It’s time to declare high-speed internet an essential service, thus closing the gaps in rural, northern and Indigenous connectivity exposed by the coronavirus pandemic.
COVID-19 highlighted the disparity between rural and urban Saskatchewan in available service providers and digital bandwidths. At a time when it matters, internet connections have been slower and unreliable in rural areas (or non-existent) and this has had a negative effect on rural services. Health, education, business and public services depend on connectivity.
Health care during the pandemic is being delivered by telehealth links. Appointments with specialists are being cancelled and replaced by video-conferencing or telephone appointments, often through online platforms. These are proving to be effective for many. Unfortunately, many rural and northern residents don’t have the bandwidth they need to access these services.
In education, classroom instructions have been suspended and are being delivered through remote/distant learning. However, for parents and university students in rural areas, to download educational materials and view supplemental resources, they require high-speed internet. Without it, rural, Indigenous and northern students don’t have equal access to educators and online supports. They are left behind. As one rural high school student said: “Everything is online right now, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic. People are relying more heavily on things being done online and it seems really like no one is thinking about the people and families who don't have access to that.”
Many rural businesses rely on the internet. Therefore, they are at a disadvantage when their connectivity is both unreliable and under capacity. If we want to support, retain and attract businesses in rural communities, let’s recognize they need reliable high-speed internet every day, but especially during crisis situations. During the coronavirus pandemic, online ordering and curbside pickup are the new normal. We must ensure our economic recovery includes providing the connectivity rural businesses need.
Even at the best of times, public services rely on communication and consistent, affordable high-speed internet and cellular services. The response to COVID-19 has required most of these offices to close and people to work from home, but the rural digital communication network is not capable of meeting this demand. Rural people should not have to hold meetings by holding cell phones next to speakers and microphones in order to participate in virtual meetings.
Connectivity is essential for our social wellbeing. Seniors in care homes and other vulnerable members of society need to be connected to family and friends. During quarantines and lockdowns, this means using social media, but inadequate bandwidth makes this impossible in many rural areas. Social distancing has resulted in social isolation for family members who have inadequate internet services or none at all – this is unfair. As well, from emergency services to home and business security, having reliable internet provides peace of mind and is important for our safety, security and mental health.
For all these reasons, the time has come for to declare rural connectivity an essential service. There is a precedent for this. In 1949, the CCF (NDP) created Saskatchewan Power. This Crown corporation had a mandate to provide electricity to every home in the province – rural and urban alike. Over the next decade, SaskPower brought electricity to 66,000 farms in Saskatchewan. The government of the day recognized rural residents should have the same advantages and comforts as in the city.
Much like rural electrification in the 1950s, rural connectivity is less profitable for private business due to the low population densities in rural areas. Our provincial government needs to accept this as a responsibility. SaskTel, the Crown corporation responsible for delivering telephone and internet services, should be given a mandate to provide connectivity as an essential service. SaskTel should ensure equal and affordable cellular and internet services are available to all rural, Indigenous and northern communities.
